Independents

BjoernM21
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Thank you, SALMANQ8, for sharing your enthusiasm for Konstantin Chaykin’s watches with us.

Regarding the Lunokhod model, our experiences are the same: Love it! Cannot afford it! This model, though, is the odd one out in his price list. The complicated case construction, involving third parties, is also bumping up the price. The independent watchmakers usually calculate the retail price from the bottom up. Typically, around 60 – 70% of the retail price cover the production costs (industry standard is 10 – 15%!). Even with the elaborate detailing, the cost of my watch was w-a-y lower than the prices you quote. Since I had chosen “opulence” as theme for my watch, I wanted to go for a gold case. But this is not necessary to enjoy a watch. Luminaries of watchmaking offer some of their special watches with non-precious metal cases for less than Euro 10’000.00, like Vincent Calabrese and Paul Gerber. For some reason these watchmakers are hired since decades by top brands to help them with the construction of new movements. They offer you to slide a bit into the roles of the managers of Audemars Piguet or Blancpain to discuss your project with them, and to be taken seriously. Which other industry offers enthusiasts to interact with its top engineers 1:1? The purpose of sharing my experiences is to encourage more enthusiasts to enter at least once into such an adventure, which is available for a (relatively speaking) bearable investment with the choices on hand. Enjoy, Björn